“You know—I never thought before that I’d enjoy talking to a girl so much.”
“I’ve enjoyed it, too,” she replied; and then they were both silent, looking ahead of them at the indifferent waters. Neither knew exactly what to make of the magnetic current that seemed to flow from one to the other, even in the simplest sentences that they spoke.
“I know now when it was,” said Grant finally, after a little silence had been growing.
“When what was?”
“When I felt the way I do, about you. When I first saw you come into the room with Packy.”
Joy felt herself growing warm. How had things come as far as this—in half an hour? She rose, and shook the sand from her skirts. “We must go in. I don’t know how many dances we’ve missed. I never lost track of the time so before.”
“Neither did I——” said the boy beside her as they faltered back over the way they had come.
At the door they encountered Packy, who had hailed them with reserved cordiality. “Where in blazes have you two been? The dance was over fifteen minutes ago and I’ve been looking for you ever since.”
They had not even noticed that the music had stopped. “All my fault, Packy,” said Grant. “I took her down to see the Promenade.”
And then the two stood looking at each other. “When may I see you again?” he asked.